It’s only Dec. 5, but the sports-talk chatter is already in full swing, with prognosticators both amateur and professional debating the team’s chances, what with the Senators on a 5-1-1 roll and with a record of 15-8-2 and 32 points in 25 games heading into Monday’s road game against Pittsburgh.

It’s certainly an encouraging start. And it most certainly doesn’t mean a whole lot at this juncture of the season. You have to look no further than the case of the Boston Bruins to understand that. Label them the unlucky ones in the past two NHL seasons.

Also: Habs leading scorer Galchenyuk out indefinitely with lower-body injury

The Senators, already seven games over what stands as a .500 mark in today’s NHL, would seem to be in excellent position early in Phase 2 of the NHL season. But the past numbers — Boston’s especially — show there are still mountains to climb.

In each of the last two seasons, the Bruins have been the first team on the outside looking in despite finishing a combined 25 games over .500. In 2015-16, they went 42-31-9 for 93 points, and in ’14-15 were 41-27-14 for 96.

In 2015-16, the final Eastern Conference wild-card team accumulated 96 points. The season before, it was 98 points, and in 2013-14, the first year of the wild-card system, it took 93. Ottawa missed in two of the past three, nailing down the first of the two wild-card spots in 2014-15 with 99.

So what, exactly, will it take the rest of the way to secure a place at the party? As mentioned, the Senators have 32 in 25. With a median of 96 and if the remaining games were broken into two segments, the Senators would need 32 in 29 and 32 in 28 to reach it.

In other words, not all that far off the promising pace they’re producing at right now.

Oh, and the aforementioned Bruins? The unlucky ones? Once again, they’re currently the first team sitting just outside a playoff position — only three points behind Ottawa.

What are the chances the Ottawa Senators make the playoffs?

It’s only Dec. 5, but the sports-talk chatter is already in full swing, with prognosticators both amateur and professional debating the team’s chances, what with the Senators on a 5-1-1 roll and with a record of 15-8-2 and 32 points in 25 games heading into Monday’s road game against Pittsburgh.

It’s certainly an encouraging start. And it most certainly doesn’t mean a whole lot at this juncture of the season. You have to look no further than the case of the Boston Bruins to understand that. Label them the unlucky ones in the past two NHL seasons.

Also: Habs leading scorer Galchenyuk out indefinitely with lower-body injury

The Senators, already seven games over what stands as a .500 mark in today’s NHL, would seem to be in excellent position early in Phase 2 of the NHL season. But the past numbers — Boston’s especially — show there are still mountains to climb.